President Obama brought his American Jobs Act to Columbus, Ohio, yesterday to gain support for a fight against the Republicans’ attempt to kill the bill. Nation editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel spoke on MSNBC’s The Ed Show yesterday about the GOP’s exceptional obstructionism—especially when compared to other eras in the party’s history, such as the productive administrations of Republican presidents Eisenhower and Nixon. The GOP’s power-play in blocking the bill and other efforts by Obama has had a toxic impact on the Democrats’ effort to jump-start the economy. Vanden Heuvel argues that a progressive movement from below is now growing in this country, and people have the power to retake the government from those who are attempting to dismantle it.

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—JIn Zhao